The Padres announced that outfielder/infielder Luis Rengifo sprained his right knee in their 7-6 loss to the Rays on Saturday. He will fly back to San Diego for further evaluation, but manager Craig Stammen said after the game that “it doesn’t look good,” according to Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune. Rengifo suffered the non-contact injury when his knee buckled on an errant throw in the seventh inning from the area between third base and shortstop (video via MLB.com’s Joey Johnston). After Rengifo remained on the court for a few minutes, he left in a cart. The Padres brought shortstop Xander Bogaerts off the bench to replace Rengifo and moved Jake Cronenworth from shortstop to second base. It was just the third start Rengifo has made at Keystone since the Padres selected his contract on July 8. He has spent most of his tenure with the Padres in left field, where he has gotten the bulk of the starts over Jase Bowen, Austin Hays and Dustin Harris. Rengifo, an Angel for his first seven seasons, joined the Brewers for $3.5 million guaranteed last winter. However, after Rengifo got off to a poor start during the first two months of the season, the Brewers released him in June. A few days later he signed a minor league pact with the Padres. It didn’t seem like a major transaction at the time, as Rengifo hit a terrible .205/.280/.254 in 209 plate appearances with no home runs with the Brewers. But the 29-year-old switch-hitter at least showed some positive signs as a Brewer. He posted encouraging walks, strikeouts, and Statcast numbers, and seemed likely to increase his .233 batting average on balls in play. Rengifo’s signing didn’t go as planned for the Brewers, but the Padres’ low-cost midfielder worked. Although Rengifo dropped to a .663 OPS in August, he entered Saturday hitting a solid .296/.376/.416 with four home runs in 142 plate appearances as a Padre. He’s been a solid contributor on a team that came out of the All-Star break one game under .500 but is now 72-64. Currently a half-game behind the division rival Diamondbacks for the final NL wild card spot, the Padres may have to place Rengifo on the injured list. They are already without Opening Day left fielder Ramón Laureano (hip surgery), designated hitter/infielder Miguel Andujar (wrist fracture) and outfielder Samad Taylor (oblique strain). Laureano will most likely return this year, but the Padres’ injury tracker on MLB.com suggests Andujar and Taylor could return in the coming weeks. Photo courtesy of Denis Poroy, Imagn Images (via Reuters Connect)
